Breathe
by Cieraangel
Summary: Clark, Chloe, and Pete meet up for old times sake as college students. They decide to go to a costume party on Halloween at a new club Lex suggests. Who's mask will be removed?


Breathe  
  
"Chloe!" Pete stood yelling towards the third floor of her dormitory. He had buzzed her a few times at the door, but figured she had her music full blast. "Chloe! Open up!" He felt an unexpected force upon his back, a small blonde jumping on him.  
  
"Yes?" She let out a light giggle, grabbing on tight to him. "Long time no jump on."  
  
"You had me yelling up there like a crazy person! Girl, what have you been eating?" He pretended to act as if he could barely hold her up.  
  
She jumped down, put on a small frown, and tucked her long blonde hair behind her ears. "College food, and not funny!" She then gave him a proper hug with a hard pat on the back.  
  
"I'm giving you a hard time. You're looking good as always." He examined her as she stood smiling, her hair now long with beautiful curls at the ends, the same smile that would brighten any solar system, and green eyes that always managed to tell this wonderful story.  
  
"You're not lookin' so bad yourself stranger. Wow, what a growth spurt will do for a man." She admired his toasted almond skin and his new nicely trimmed goatee. The fact that he had gotten so handsome made her laugh to herself. She had to find an excuse to touch him again; she grabbed his arm and squeezed it. "Working out?"  
  
"A little." Pete blushed as they stood looking at one another in silence. "Wow, it's good to see you."  
  
"You too."  
  
........  
  
"So when are we going to meet up with Clark?" Pete sat across from the young blonde who didn't seem too keen on answering any questions that involved their mutual friend.  
  
"I haven't talked to him at all today. Last week, the plan was for me to call him when you showed up. Now, I'm not sure."  
  
"Well, did you call him?"  
  
"Nope." She took another sip of her Latte as she signaled for the waitress to bring her another one.  
  
"Okay Sunshine, so what's up?"  
  
"Nothing." She momentarily raised her eyebrows. "And did you just call me Sunshine?" Pete let out a light chuckle as he sipped on his coffee. "Don't say 'nothing'. What's got you mad at Clark this week?"  
  
"He.he just.he infuriates me!" Chloe put her head down on the table and started to grumble.  
  
"And how do you really feel Chloe?" Pete said in a sarcastic voice, as he reached over and grabbed her arm that lay limp on the table.  
  
"He makes appointments he cannot keep, he's stood me up twice this week and frankly, I'm just tired of it. He's been like this since we were kids!" She let out a long sigh, finally lifting her head.  
  
"Well, if he's been acting like this since we were kids, why are you expecting him to change now, all of a sudden?"  
  
Chloe bit the corner of her lip, as her eyes focused on the cup in front of her. She shrugged her shoulders slightly as she looked back up to her friend. "I don't know. So many other things have changed, why not this?"  
  
"Because Clark Kent wouldn't be Clark Kent if he didn't have that element of surprise to him."  
  
"As in you'd like for me to forgive him?"  
  
"Well, you did last week." He smiled at Chloe making a tiny blush come across her face.  
  
"Yeah, yeah." She grabbed her cell phone to call Clark.  
  
.......  
  
"Trick or Treat!!" Both Pete and Chloe stood in front of Clarks door with plastered grins on their faces.  
  
Clark opened the door slightly with the chain lock still on, quickly shutting it back after seeing the two unfamiliar faces at the door. He laughed. The two friends could hear his muffled voice slightly through the door "This is Metropolis, you'll have people thinking you want to rob them with stuff like that!" He opened the door completely as both Chloe and Pete stumbled in. They both were dressed in all black and wore sunglasses. Chloe was in awe at how great Clark looked dressed as Neo from "The Matrix".  
  
"Morpheus. Trinity, I like the hair, oh my, and leather", Clark grinned at Chloe who showcased herself for both of the men. She adjusted her short black wig as she twirled.  
  
"So, who'd like to bet on who Lex will be?" Chloe asked flashing a five- dollar bill in the air she'd taken out of the top of her cat suit. "Professor X" Pete said aloud taking a Five out of his jacket pocket.  
  
"Hmmm, I'm going to guess Jean-Luc Picard from 'Star Trek'", Clark said with a definite nod.  
  
Chloe put on a huge smirk. "Um, sure, okay, so you guys think Lex is a walking cliché. I don't. I'm going to bet that he comes as himself, just because he's arrogant like that. Besides, the fact he's actually coming still has me in total shock"  
  
"It's only because he wants to impress this beautiful yet very oblivious blonde by the name of Chloe Sullivan", Clark put on a huge grin as Chloe mimicked Clark's talking with her hands.  
  
"Blah blah blah. That's total nonsense. Lets go", she said opening the door as they headed out to a new spot in town called Club Evolution.  
  
....  
  
As the three entered the dim lit club. The motif screamed Halloween. There was the element of the black light with tons of cobwebs and dry ice. It was tastefully done though, and they were all very excited about being there.  
  
"Man! Too bad Lana couldn't make it," Chloe screamed so the both of the young men could hear her.  
  
"Yeah, too bad. Hey, look at that caramel cutie over there! I'll be back in a second!" Pete ran off to the attractive woman in a vampire costume.  
  
Clark began to laugh "Same old Pete."  
  
"Uh huh, women dig him", Chloe said with a smirk.  
  
"Sorry, about this week", Clark mumbled to her as they made their way through the crowded building.  
  
"HUH?!?"  
  
"Sorry!"  
  
She rolled her eyes behind her sunglasses as she turned back to face him. "Sure, I mean, I'm going to guess that you don't purposefully disappoint me all the time! You're freaking forgiven."  
  
Clark leaned down and kissed the unsuspecting Chloe on the forehead. "You look incredible tonight."  
  
Chloe quickly weighed her options of turning into a puddle or playing it cool. Before she could complete her thought she was already throwing her hand in his face. Without saying a word, she turned and walked off. She pretended to rub the back of her head as she discretely showed Clark her middle finger. She made sure to move gracefully with a definite twist in her hips, smiling at the fact she had just totally brushed him off. Clark stood there, dumbfounded but grinning.  
  
"She's a handful, isn't she?" A familiar voice rang in Clark's ear.  
  
"Yeah and did she just give me the finger?" He turned to a snickering Lex who was of course, not dressed in any sort of costume. "You've just made me lose five bucks! I was betting you'd be a character from Star Trek"  
  
Lex raised his eyebrow. "Well I wondered what would be better than dressing up as a multi-billionaire, and I couldn't think of anything." His eyes scanned through the club looking for Chloe. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find that woman with the name of a divine number."  
  
"So much for partying, together", Clark said to himself as he made his way through the crowd as well.  
  
......  
  
"Nice costume," A voice whispered into her ear. It sent a warm rush through her body. She turned to see a medium-sized yet very chiseled man dressed in a black costume. Chloe was very intrigued. She wasn't sure whom the masked man was supposed to be dressed as. He was in a tight black suit, only exposing his mouth, which owned the most kissable of lips and his deep brown eyes peered from the top. Before she could say anything else, she felt something hard press against her stomach.  
  
"I'll be needing you to come with me", he still spoke with frightening warmth as he slowly turned her around, now pressing the gun into her back.  
  
Chloe didn't know what to do aside from take orders from the masked man. Even if she managed to see Clark, Pete, or Lex, she figured they wouldn't know what was wrong. She couldn't even make a facial expression of panic, seeing as her eyes were covered with her sunglasses. They moved through the dancing crowd steadily as her eyes scanned for one of her friends. Right before they got to one of the side exits Lex managed to make his way to her.  
  
"Chloe!"  
  
Both her and her kidnapper stopped. The man in black nudged her harder with the gun as a warning to not say anything that would have them caught.  
  
"Hey", she managed to say, with a slight grin.  
  
"Been looking for you all over this place but it looks like you're heading out?" Lex looked up at the man behind her, who had his body pressed tightly against her back.  
  
"Yeah, met a new guy that I plan on screwing, and now I have five less dollars. I just knew you'd come to the party as Jean-Luc."  
  
The man nudged again for her to go forward as they rushed out of the building. Lex stood speechless as to what had just happened. Chloe for one never talked about screwing, much less a man she'd just met. He also thought he heard Clark say that he was the one that was betting on Star Trek. He put those clues together and figured the man she left with wasn't on a voluntary basis. He quickly rushed out the door himself, grabbing his gun from out of his pocket, yelling for him to stop, as he pointed the weapon at the two that now rushed to a black car with no identifiable tags. He couldn't get a good aim on the kidnapper without harming Chloe in the process, but he ran towards the both of them anyway. The masked man turned to face Lex who was now coming towards him. All of a sudden, Lex felt and impact upon him that was worse than a punch. It sent him flying back at least 100 feet. By time he could compose himself, the car had already sped off. He was not shot, nor was the man close enough to hit him; it was as if some sort of force did it. After calling the police with his cell phone he rushed back into the club to find Clark and Pete. He hoped it wasn't some sort of random kidnapper; at least then, the chances of them finding her would be easier.  
  
...............  
  
Chloe sat on a cold floor, back against the wall, blindfolded, with her hands tied behind her back. The cloth that was tied around her mouth made it hard to swallow, as she tried to scream loudly. Each scream came out as a light whimper, frustrating her.  
  
"I'm sorry Chloe. No one can hear you. Keep your energy; you're going to need it." The kidnappers voice echoed throughout the room, still warm, but now with more of a familiar tone to it. Chloe still couldn't pinpoint the voice but was sure she'd heard it before. "It's been such a long time." His footsteps were getting closer to her, as she finally felt his presence near; apparently he had knelt down. His voice had gotten louder. "You are still so beautiful." He ran the back of his hand along her face, as she flinched and turned her head away from him. He took off her black wig, exposing her long blonde hair. "Don't be afraid of me." She now felt his breath against her face, and then her hair, as if he were breathing her in. She began to scream to deaf ears again, her tears wetting the cloth that was tied so tightly around her eyes. "Shhh", he whispered as he stood back up. She could hear his footsteps get more distant, and a door open and shut. She was now alone. The only thing she could think of is that she should have run, but when they were in the club it was as if she was glued to him; she could barely move, and each step that seemed voluntary was not. She was a puppet and some sort of force led her where it pleased.  
  
.... Clark's cell phone rang as he, Pete, and Lex drove around the city of Metropolis, searching. "Hello."  
  
A voice set under a voice synthesizer greeted him. "Trick or treat."  
  
"Where's Chloe?" Clark didn't even have to guess this was the man who had his best friend.  
  
"In due time Mr. Kent. First, I'd like you to ditch your two cronies so we can have a more private conversation."  
  
Clark looked over to Pete who sat next to him. He pulled over the car, and asked for both he and Lex to get out of the car.  
  
"What? You're going to just drop us off in the middle of downtown Metropolis?" Pete said as he unhooked his seatbelt.  
  
"It's what he wants."  
  
Both Lex and Pete hopped out of the car. "We'll be fine", Lex said as he got out of the car. "Call my cell after this is all over."  
  
Clark slowly drove off, now talking again to the kidnapper. "What do you want?"  
  
"We have some unfinished business to take care of Kent."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Meet me at the old Metropolis ship yard in twenty minutes. No police or our little Chloe is dead." The kidnapper hung up the phone, leaving Clark to only hear a dial tone.  
  
......  
  
Chloe heard the door open and shut again. She had been trying to get untied from her ropes the entire time he'd been gone but to no avail.  
  
"Chloe, I've missed you so much. The entire time I was away, you were the only person I thought about. I was so sorry, for what I had almost done." He kneeled down in front of her, untying her blindfold. She opened her now swollen eyes, and saw the still masked man in front of her. He untied her mouth and then brushed his thumb across her lips. She tried to scream but it was if her mouth was wired shut. "Don't scream and I'll fix that."  
  
She nodded and then she felt the sensation in her mouth come back. "Who are you?" she asked, narrowing her tear-filled eyes, looking into his.  
  
He leaned in, and kissed her lips, trying to force her mouth open with his tongue. Chloe bit it hard forcing him to quickly back away. He drew back and slapped her, leaving a huge red mark on her face. "See! Look what you've made me do!"  
  
Chloe's tears subsided as anger grew within her. "Listen! I don't know who you are but this is a really twisted sort of way to get my attention!"  
  
The kidnapper began to chuckle, pacing back and forth. "See Chloe, this is why I love you. You were always the fighter."  
  
"Justin?" Chloe took in a deep breath of the cold atmosphere, her face softening of the anger that had once brushed its way across it. She waited for her kidnapper to respond but he just paced back and forth, silent. Justin was a friend of hers in high school. He had gotten into a terrible accident, which left him without much use of his hands. While in therapy, Justin developed the ability to move things with his mind, telekinesis. They dated momentarily, but he wasn't the same person he was before the accident. He murdered the man he thought was responsible for the accident; he even tried to kill Clark and herself. "It's you. Isn't it Justin?"  
  
The kidnapper removed his mask, revealing the face of an old friend. His brown hair remained the same, and his deep haunting brown eyes still managed to sparkle, even in his madness. "You're so perceptive. It was touching you never put me on your Wall of Weird, just like you promised. I've read every article you've written since I'd been put away in that mental institution. I've followed your life for the past five years, your work with the daily planet, a glimpse of your relationships, and of course, your on again off again thing with Clark. He was never good enough for you Chloe. Anyone could've told you that."  
  
"Why are you doing this?" Her tears began to flow again.  
  
"It's amazing what masks will do. Isn't it Chloe?"  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"I mean, look at your friend Clark Kent. I told you my secrets, but what about him?"  
  
"This has nothing to do with Clark, Justin."  
  
"Doesn't it? If he weren't in the picture, you would have accepted who I was; you would have accepted my need for revenge, but instead, you fell for the mask, a shell of a person you know absolutely nothing about, and he calls you his friend." Justin snickered and shrugged "and his lover, sometimes."  
  
"You don't know anything Justin! I accepted you for who you were, but I could never be with a murderer. You needed help! I mean, you've just kidnapped me. Sane people, yeah, they would have sent flowers, mailed a letter, called!"  
  
" So witty, my beautiful Chloe. I wonder how many people have died under Kent's watch? Maybe you'll be more grateful when you find out the truth. You need to decide who's the real freak. No better day to remove the masks than Halloween, wouldn't you agree?"  
  
"You're sick. You need help."  
  
Justin began to grin, "Chloe, we all need help. Enough of the small talk, we need have some business to attend to."  
  
........................  
  
Clark scanned the old shipyard in search of the kidnapper. His black trench coat fluttered in the wind as he turned. He caught something moving in the corner of his eyes, only to see Chloe at a distance trying to untie herself from a pole. He ran to her, noticing when he was getting closer she was shaking her head, warning him not to come any closer. Before he could react a huge force hit him and sent him flying across the cold concrete. He quickly picked himself up to be face to with the unmasked Justin.  
  
"Justin?" Clark said as he picked himself up from the ground.  
  
"Oh wow, so observant. Well since we're past the formalities. Looks like we all know who I am Kent, but what about you? Does your precious Chloe know that you're a freak?"  
  
Clark had finally dusted himself off and was standing. "I don't know what you're talking about Justin. You need help; lets get you back to a hospital."  
  
Justin began to chuckle. "Ah, I see, so what you generally do is send everyone to the mental hospital who calls out your secret?" Justin's eyes focused on a tractor that held a huge bolder. "Let's see some of that super strength." He waved his hand towards the bolder having it fall directly over Chloe.  
  
The only way Clark could make it on time was to of course use his speed. He ran quickly to the frightened blonde and caught the bolder, while their eyes momentarily met. He saw the fear and panic in her eyes. It made his heart sink.  
  
"Whoa! So Chloe, wonder how our little farm boy from Smallville did that?" Justin walked to a corner and picked up a chainsaw as Clark quickly ran to him. He was again thrown across the pavement. "Wait until I turn it on at least Kent. I'm not ready." He cranked up the machine and then signaled for his fighting opponent to come forward.  
  
Clark ran behind him, took the chainsaw and threw Justin up against a solid wall. He then made his way towards Chloe, first untying her feet than hands. "Run Chlo, and hide until this is over." Chloe made a quick nod and began to run, by this time Justin was already up.  
  
Justin's cynical laugh echoed through the abandoned shipyard. "You two are so cute, enough to make me want to vomit, but it's not going to be that easy." He waved his hand again having Clark crash into a small sort of storage house. Justin walked up a little to the house and lit a match. "Smell that Clark? The smell of gasoline before the morning dew even starts to form on the grass, refreshing." He dropped the match that sent a trail fire trail towards the building, with it immediately exploding with Clark inside.  
  
Chloe heard the blast as she ran, which made her turn back, the fire reflected in her eyes as fear of her best friend being hurt ran through her heart. She ran back towards the fire, not seeing Justin or Clark anywhere around. "Clark!" Chloe yelled in panic as her eyes scanned through the burning rubble. She was grabbed tightly by someone behind her which made her let out a loud scream.  
  
Justin kissed her on her cheek, holding her against her will. "Oh, so you thought you'd come back and save the day? Sorry to break it to you beautiful but you're not a super girl and your Clark is gone. I mean, strong guy but he's definitely not fire proof."  
  
Chloe tried to elbow him but again she was frozen and feeling completely helpless. She hated the power that this man seemed to have over her.  
  
"Calm down. I'm not going to hurt you. I want you to love me like you did him. See, he was a freak, just like me." He turned her to face him, "The only difference is, that at least I was honest about it."  
  
Her eyes were so tired of shedding tears, and the loss she felt was so great that she could barely breathe. The thought of Clark actually being dead danced circles in her head making her so dizzy she could barely stand. Through the blur of sadness that filled her eyes she saw movement behind Justin.  
  
Clark tapped Justin on the back having him turn. He then flung the kidnapper with his bare hands to the water, not seeing any activity of the body or even ripples. Immediately afterwards they heard police sirens and saw blue lights that bounce steadily over the entire shipyard. Chloe quickly grabbed Clark hugging him. "Oh God," was the only thing she could manage to say as she clung on him tightly.  
  
As the cops came with their guns investigating the situation, Clark just continued to rub Chloe's back, comforting her. He felt her trembling in his arms; her breaths weren't steady. He could tell she was hyperventilating. "Chloe, breathe. It's okay. I'm so sorry you had to find out like this," he whispered into her ear, as she held on to him tighter. "Breathe". Her breaths slowed back to normal as she took in a breath of Clark's singed Matrix costume.  
  
........  
  
The sun had just begun to rise as both Clark and Chloe left the police station after 3 hours of questioning. The police and rescue team were not able to find Justin's body, and it had been under the water too long to have actually survived down there.  
  
The ride back to Chloe's dormitory seemed to take forever as silence filled the car.  
  
Clark's cell phone rang, breaking the silence. "Hey Pete. Yeah, Trinity's right here. Meet us at her place and tell Lex that his pint sized beauty is okay." He looked over to Chloe chuckling at the narrow eyes that looked back at him. "I'll see you there. Bye." He hung up the phone and momentarily looked over to Chloe. "You know, you should really give Lex a chance. I know he's a bit eccentric but he's great company and he likes you." He waited for a response but Chloe just stared out the car window.  
  
"When you're ready to explain to me what went on last night, feel free to. It doesn't have to be today, tomorrow, or next year even. I figure you would have told me if you wanted me to know." She let out a big sigh. ". Instead of me finding out like this. No pressure on my end. Okay?" Chloe looked over to Clark waiting for a response, and hopefully, an explanation, even though she had just said she didn't need one.  
  
"Chlo, I don't even know where to begin."  
  
"Well, when you figure it out, you know where I am." A slight grin came across her face as the newly risen sun reflected off her blonde hair like fire. "By the way, whatever you did, it was extremely cool."  
  
Clark was taken back about how nonchalant she was being about all of this. The reporter in her hadn't kicked in full gear, asking a million questions. It was as if she really was willing to wait until he felt comfortable talking about it. "Would you mind taking a trip with me to Smallville this weekend? I think I could explain it better there."  
  
"Um, sure. I guess I can etch you into my busy schedule, somewhere in between me washing my clothes and watching the grass grow. By the way, he wants me to accompany him to some sort of ball next month."  
  
"Lex?"  
  
"Yes, strange huh?"  
  
"Not really. You guys have been hanging out a lot lately and I'm sure it didn't' take him long to realize you're smart, beautiful, and have true wit like no other. He only sees what everyone else does in you and he's not afraid to go after it."  
  
"Ah, like you", she said sarcastically. He didn't respond. They sat again in silence.  
  
She looked over at him again, but this time in a bit of awe. She smiled at how he knew she was looking, but he continued to face the road. She observed the half grin on his face. It was a look of content, and it put a sense of comfort in her. She had a million questions dancing around in her brain but tried to steer clear of the subject of his super strength and fire resistant body. He had just saved her life at the risk of her finding out all of his secrets. The last thing she wanted to do was interrogate him. She was just glad they were both alive.  
  
"Masks are terrible things to wear Chlo, especially when you hide yourself from your best friends. I don't want to hide from you anymore and I'm sorry I didn't share this sooner." He finally did glance over to her with a look of sincerity.  
  
She turned her head and began to smirk as she looked out the car window, "At the expense of sounding like a broken record Neo, it's worth the wait."  
  
The End 


End file.
